Beautiful
by BigRed502
Summary: Sydney's life is changing, but that means leaving Michael behind...


**Title: ****Beautiful**

**Summary: -****just the way you are-**

**Song: "Come Down To Me" by Saving Jane**

"**Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Sydney Bristow squealed loudly as she ran into her best friend's house.**

"**Whoa, calm down Bristow." Michael Vaughn laughed as she bounced off the walls with energy.**

"**Oh my God, Michael!" Sydney shrieked with a full dimple smile in place.**

"**What's gotten into you?" Michael couldn't help but notice the radiance and beauty whenever Sydney smiled. He knew he shouldn't have the feelings he did, but he couldn't help it. Over the years, Michael's best friend feelings had gradually morphed into something much stronger. He wouldn't tell Sydney though, for fear of making things awkward between them.**

"**You know the other night, when we went to that place and I did that thing?" Sydney rambled. This wouldn't have made any sense to anyone but Michael who knew exactly what she was talking about. The previous week, he had accompanied Sydney to a karaoke bar (with fake ID's, of course) where he had persuaded her to go up and sing a song. He loved listening to her voice and it was even sweeter when she sang. He tried his best to compliment and encourage her without being too suspicious for fear she would find out about his feelings.**

"**Yeah?"**

"**Apparently, there was this record label guy there and he somehow got my name and he wants me to do a demo tape! Isn't that amazing?" Sydney explained and jumped excitedly. Michael was happy for her, knowing she was meant for more than living in their small town. He was just sad that it meant he wasn't going to be with her in her success.**

"**That's great!" He said, trying to force a happy tone into his words. He was truly glad for her, but didn't want her to leave him behind. Michael knew she wasn't his anyway and she probably didn't feel the same way about him as he did her. They spent the rest of the afternoon celebrating and picking songs for Sydney to sing.**

**_Words fall out of my mouth  
And I can't seem to trace what I'm saying  
Everybody wants your time  
I'm just dreaming out loud,  
I can't have you for mine and I know it  
I just wanna watch you shine._**

"**Yes, thank you. See you soon." Sydney said into the phone and hung up.**

"**So…?" Michael asked nervously. After submitting her demo tape to the record label guy, AKA Steve, they had been awaiting a call from the 'Higher Ups' at Varsity Records. Sydney had been re-evaluating her song choices and singing ability since then, to which Michael had to tell her otherwise.**

"**They want me to go to a meeting." Sydney said, sitting next to Michael on the end of her bed.**

"**That's great, when is it? Where?" Michael asked, smiling at her. Sydney looked at the floor before answering.**

"**It's in L.A. next Tuesday."**

"**Oh." Michael's cheerful mood deflated. He had briefly entertained the stupid idea that she could be able to work in their hometown. It was dumb of him to think she could do her thing in their small town. The biggest attraction in their town was the new Pizza Hut. **

**He couldn't let his tenderness over this development in their lives ruin her day though. He would rather have her enjoying the moment than realizing what she'd be leaving behind. "That's amazing."**

"**You think?"**

"**Syd, the meeting's in L.A.!" Michael tried to get her to see how great of an opportunity this was, even though all he wanted to do was beg her to stay. He couldn't make her give up her dreams to stay with him. She probably only thought of him as her best friend and nothing more.**

"**I don't know…"**

"**This is the opportunity of a lifetime! You have to have something for them to fly you across the country." Michael insisted. He wanted Sydney to see how special she really was. In his eyes she was perfect and could never fail.**

*******

"**Bye Michael." Sydney said quietly before boarding her plane.**

"**Bye Syd." He echoed, keeping his feelings in check. He didn't want her to leave, but knew he couldn't stop her. Instead of vocalizing his feelings, he wrapped his arms around her tightly. She held him just as tightly before pulling back with a smile. **

"**See ya later." She said and turned towards the entrance to the plane. She was leaving him behind and he had to accept it.**

**  
_Tripping up on my tongue,  
It's all over my face and I'm racing  
Gotta get away from you  
Burning all the way home,  
Try to put it to bed but it chases  
Every little thing I do_  
**

**There wasn't a day that went by without Michael's thoughts straying to Sydney. After hearing that she had gotten signed for a record deal and had to move to California with her family he had been depressed. He couldn't bring himself to be happy for her because he missed her too much. Every time he drove by her house he would ache to see her sitting on her front porch, reading a new book she got from the library. **

**It was the first time in his life that he didn't see or talk to Sydney every single day. She was busy making her first album and settling into life in LA, which didn't leave much time for talking on the phone or email.**

**What little he did hear from her wasn't what he expected. He thought she would be sad about being away from him, but she seemed completely happy. This reaffirmed his belief that their feelings weren't the same for each other.**

**_When the light falls on your face,  
Don't let it change you  
When the stars get in your eyes,  
Don't let them blind you._**

"**Michael!!" Sydney screamed from across the airport, running into her best friend's arms.**

"**Welcome home Syd." Michael sighed into their embrace, holding her tightly. He couldn't believe that he hadn't seen her in over half a year. Time passed by quickly when everyday was spent missing her.**

"**Same old Michael." Sydney smiled when she pulled back and looked him over, trying to memorize his features for when she returned to L.A.**

"**Well, I have gained ten pounds and got highlights." Michael pretended to flip his hair like a girl. Sydney laughed at his joke and Michael's heart melted at the sight of her dimpled smile. He had missed that smile more than anything over the past months.**

"**Yeah, right. You look just as gorgeous as eva." Sydney teased in a fake accented voice.**

"**Look at you though!" Michael noticed the changes to her features. Her hair was shorter and flippier, she wasn't wearing her glasses, and he thought he saw traces of makeup on her eyes. "Is that makeup?" His jaw dropped.**

"**Shut up, everyone wears makeup." Sydney blushed.**

"**Not little miss Sydney Bristow." Michael teased. He had never seen Sydney wear any form of makeup before; even to dances and thought she looked even more beautiful. She was stunning without it, but the way it was that day just accentuated her beauty.**

"**Things change Michael." Sydney scolded him for mocking her. "So what's been going on here?" Sydney asked as they exited the airport. She had flown home alone to visit with Michael during a break in recording she had.**

"**Absolutely nothing." Michael smiled.**

"**Golly gee, the world just stops turning when I leave the room, doesn't it?" Sydney laughed, putting on her sunglasses as they walking into the bright sunlight and to Michael's car.  
**

"**Yes it does." Michael thought truthfully.**

*******

"**I don't wanna leave." Sydney whined, holding onto Michael's neck as they said goodbye at the airport a week later.**

"**You could always stay." Michael suggested seriously.**

"**Michael…" Sydney sighed, thinking he was kidding, but knowing in her heart he felt left behind. "You know I can't."**

"**Please?" Michael asked, looking deeply into her eyes. All he wanted was a chance to be with her. It was right then that he made a decision. It might have been a little stupid and a little surprising, but he had to try. He had to know how she felt.**

**Without another word, Michael gently but firmly pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. His mind was swimming with happiness as he finally kissed the woman he loved. All that mattered was the question of if she loved him back.**

"**W-Why did you do that?" Sydney pulled away and stared at him with shocked eyes.**

"**Didn't you feel something?" Michael asked, wondering what made him kiss her. Sydney's eyes widened even further and he became acutely aware of her palm coming in contact with his face. Not only was he physically hurt by her slap, but also emotionally because it meant she didn't feel the same.**

"**I don't even know who you are anymore." Sydney hissed and backed away from him towards the gate. Michael tried calling out to her, but she boarded the plane without looking back.**

**_You're beautiful  
Just the way you are  
And I love it all  
Every line, and every scar  
And I wish that I could make you see  
This is where you ought to be,  
Come down to me._**

"**Michael, I'm sorry I slapped you. It was out of place and uncalled for. You just surprised me, that's all." Sydney apologized in a message on Michael's answering machine the next week. He was glad she wasn't ignoring him like he thought she would, but he had been wrong about a lot of things lately. He had been wrong to think it was a good idea to kiss her, or not call when she landed. "Well, I have to go now, but make sure you get my CD… its coming out next week, isn't that exciting?" Sydney sounded anxious about it. "Anyway, bye Michael."**

**He sighed and hit the delete button on the machine, flopping onto the couch. He should have called her and apologized, or found a better time to make a fool out of himself than when she was leaving. She already had enough pressure on her out in Hollywood and their kiss would only add to her stress. Michael decided to forget about it until she called again. But he wasn't sure she would call.**

*******

**The next weekend Michael drove to the mall at nine am sharp in order to be the first one to buy Sydney's CD. He was eager to have something that reminded him of Sydney that he could listen to whenever he missed her.**

"**You're here early son." The man opening the mall's main entrance smiled at Michael.**

"**I wanna be the first one to buy my friend's CD." Michael explained.**

"**Oh, that Bristow girl? Is she any good?" He asked.**

"**She's amazing." Michael answered automatically.**

"**Good luck son." The man said as he walked back into the mall.**

"**With what?" Michael wondered aloud, but he was already gone. He made his way to the CD store inside the mall and weaved his way through the shelves until he found what he was looking for. Inside a thin plastic cover was what he had been waiting for for almost a year. Sydney's bright smiling face was shining up at him on the cover and he couldn't take his eyes off of her as he walked to the cash register.**

**The second he returned to his car he began to carefully open the CD. Taking out the actual disc, he put it in his car stereo and waited for the first song to begin.**

**_"Spell it out in a song,  
Bet you never catch on to my weakness  
I'm singing every word for you.  
Here I'm thinking I'm sly  
Then you're catching my eye, and just maybe  
You're thinking what I'm thinking too_**

_When you see it on my face,  
Don't let it shake you  
I know better than to try and  
Take you with me."_

**Michael's hands shook as he drove back towards his house, all the while wondering what she had meant by her lyrics. Was the song about him? He didn't want to get his hopes up if it was just a random love song.**

**Pulling into his driveway he saw an unfamiliar car out by the street. Michael turned off the ignition and got out of the car, staring at the black car in front of his house. Living in a small town, there normally weren't cars that he couldn't recognize in one way or another.**

**Shrugging it off to his nerves, Michael made his way inside to find a foreign bag by his front door.**

"**Mom?" He called, wondering where all this stuff had come from.**

"**Michael!!" A familiar squeal was heard, followed by the loud patter of feet down the hallway and arms being wrapped around him.**

"**S-Syd? What are you doing here?" Michael asked confused by her sudden appearance. She had just released a CD, should she have been celebrating with her new LA friends?**

"**Did you listen to it?" She asked as she pulled back and looked him in the eye.**

"**Yeah, but just the first song… it's in the car, do you want me to go get it?" Michael asked, getting ready to step away. Before he could move an inch Sydney's lips crashed into his in a passionate kiss. Gasping for breath, Michael pulled away and sent her a shocked look.**

"**What was that?" He squeaked.**

"**You said you listened to it!" Sydney whined indignantly.**

"**I… I wasn't sure if it was about me or not…" Michael replied quietly.**

"**Of course it was!" Sydney rolled her eyes. "I just couldn't do it Michael. I'm not fit for that life… and I missed you too much."**

"**But-" Sydney interrupted him by laying a finger to his lips.**

"**No buts. I'm back, I'm here, and I want you to kiss me again." Sydney grinned.**

"**I guess I can't argue with that." Michael smirked and kissed her again.**

*******

"**So how long have you liked me?" Sydney asked as they watched a movie in Michael's livingroom later that day.**

"**Um... Probably, since I was five." Michael blushed.**

"**Michael that's pathetic!" Sydney laughed. "Why didn't you do anything about it?"**

"**I didn't wanna ruin our friendship. You mean more to me than anything else." Michael admitted.**

"**Aww, that's so cute!" Sydney smiled.**

"**Stop mocking me." Michael grumbled.**

"**Fine, but on one condition." Sydney held up a single finger.**

"**And what's that Miss Bristow?" Michael smiled at her.**

"**Kiss me." Sydney leaned into him.**

"**Absolutely." Michael leaned in the rest of the way and connected their lips again for what he knew would be one of many more to come.**

**{The End}**


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